Queensland Election 2017 results: Premier’s new Cabinet to focus on jobs, health and education
ANNASTACIA Palaszczuk has announced her full Cabinet for the 56th Parliament, including both familiar and new faces for Queensland’s most important ministerial portfolios.
QLD Election
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD Election. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Premier unwraps her Cabinet early
- Major shake-up after Premier’s win
- Has Trad been handed poison chalice?
- Why the LNP saved Jackie Trad’s bacon
ANNASTACIA Palaszczuk has announced her full Cabinet for the 56th Parliament, including both familiar and new faces for Queensland’s most important ministerial portfolios.
Ms Palaszczuk took to Twitter this afternoon to make the announcements.
“Proud to announce that @YvetteDAth will be appointed as Leader of the House as well as Attorney-General and Minister for Justice,” she tweeted.
“Our new Minister for Health and Ambulance Services is @StevenJMiles.”
Ms Palaszczuk sent the tweets in rapid succession, also announcing that Grace Grace would keep Industrial Relations, but add Education to her responsibilities.
Stirling Hinchliffe returns to the Cabinet following his resignation last term as Transport Minister.
He’ll take over as Minister for Local Government, Minister for Racing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs.
Di Farmer, who enters Cabinet this term, will become the new Minister for Child Safety, Youth and Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, taking those responsibilities from Shannon Fentiman.
Shannon Fentiman is now Minister for Employment, Minister for Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development.
The new Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Minister for Science and Minister for the Arts is Leeanne Enoch, who keeps Science, but picks up the Premier’s old Arts portfolio and Mr Miles’s old job of Environment Minister.
Mark Bailey will continue on as Main Roads Minister, with the added responsibility of Transport.
Coralee O’Rourke drops her former responsibilities as Minister for North Queensland, but stays on Disability Services and Seniors Minister and adds Communities to her job title.
Natural Resources and Mines Minister Anthony Lynham will add Energy to his portfolio, while Housing, Public Works and Sport Minister Mick de Brenni has added Digital Technology to his job description.
Mark Furner has traded in his responsibilities in local government to become Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries.
Minister for Fire and Emergency Services will Craig Crawford, which keeps a North Queensland MP on the frontbench after former treasurer Curtis Pitt was sidelined from cabinet and will instead sit in the speaker’s chair for the coming term.
Mark Ryan keeps his old job of Police Minister.
Ms Palaszczuk also announced she would appoint five assistant ministers.
Jen Howard will assist with State and Veteran Affairs, Glenn Butcher will assist with Treasury, Julieanne Gilbert will assist with State Development, Brittany Lauga will assist with Education and brand-new MP Meaghan Scanlon, who won the Gold Coast seat of Gaven, will assist with Tourism Industry Development.
The Premier said the 18-Member Cabinet and five Assistant Ministers were the right mix of experience and regional representation to deliver greater economic prosperity and government services for all Queenslanders.
“We will build on the success of our first term – working with business and industry to create more than 130,000 new jobs, restoring frontline services, investing record budgets in health and education, and strengthening our economy through investments in infrastructure and innovation,” she said in a statement.
“Cabinet will have equal representation of men and women, and four of the five Assistant Ministers are women.
“Our job – over the next 1000 days – is to ensure all Queenslanders win, whether it is winning with the opportunity for work; or winning with access to quality healthcare for them and their loved ones; or winning with best possible education for our children and access to skills and training for those joining or rejoining the workforce.
“Our Government – of 25 men and 23 women - represents a State that will be soon be home to five million people spread across more than 1.7 million square kilometres.
“Our Government will be as hardworking and as decent as the Queenslanders we represent.
“We will listen to Queenslanders and we will deliver for Queenslanders.
“As Premier, I am determined that every day we keep our focus on the concerns and hopes of Queenslanders no matter where they live and how they voted.
“Queensland’s best days are ahead of us. Queensland has the Government that will ensure we can make the most of those opportunities.”
Earlier today, the Premier held the first Labor caucus meeting of the 56th Parliament flanked by her new economic team of senior ministers – Treasurer Jackie Trad, State Development Minister Cameron Dick and Innovation Minister Kate Jones.
She said it was “lovely” to finally command a majority government.
“A few years ago we were a team of seven,” she told a Caucus meeting this morning where her entire Cabinet team will be confirmed.
“We had a few by-elections, then it went to minority government and now we are majority government.”
Making special mention of newly elected Cook MP Cynthia Liu and Gaven MP Meaghan Scanlon, she said Labor was now represented across the length and breadth of Queensland.
Ms Palaszczuk said the LNP had dispatched no less than three former prime ministers to the state during the campaign, “but we sent them marching back down”.
“We have a big job to do,” she said.
“I need everybody working as hard as possible over these three years.
“We made a commitment to the people of this state that we would focus on jobs, health and education.
“We made a commitment that we would work as hard as we possibly can so that people across this state can get access to employment.”
She said jobs were the number one issues raised with her by people during the campaign.
On arriving, Mr Dick said “jobs, jobs and jobs” was his number one focus in his new role heading up State Development, Infrastructure and Planning and Manufacturing.
The party room was a family affair, with Keppel MP Brittany Lauga, Macalister MP Melissa McMahon and Morayfield MP Mark Ryan all having their babies with them.
You can thank me for majority: Miller
RENEGADE MP Jo-Ann Miller claims her decision to reach out to Pauline Hanson gave Labor the winning edge at November 25’s state election.
Frecklington ahead in LNP race
DEB Frecklington is heading into tomorrow’s Liberal National Party leadership contest with a significant edge over her rivals, according to party insiders.